FOOTBALL – Two-time defending champions Muharraq secured their first victory of the new season last night while title contenders Al Khaldiya and Riffa played to a goalless stalemate as matchweek three kicked off in the 2026-27 Nasser bin Hamad Bahrain Premier Football League.
After posting just one point from their first two games – leading to the dismissal of head coach Issa Saadoun and the appointment of Mohammed Adnan Ayoub as interim – Muharraq finally came away with a full three points despite going down to 10 men in a hard-earned 3-1 victory over a battling Manama at Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Riffa.
Edimar Ribeiro da Costa Junior came on as a substitute right after the hour mark and fired in a brace, including Muharraq’s go-ahead strike midway through the second half.
Khaldiya and Riffa, on the other hand, could not take advantage of their opportunities at goal and ended their contest at the National Stadium in Riffa in a nil-nil draw.
The third round of league action continues today and tomorrow with two matches each evening.
Tonight, Al Najma take on East Riffa at the National Stadium while Malkiya face off with A’ali at Khalifa Sports City Stadium.
Tomorrow, Al Ahli and Al Ettifaq lock horns at the National Stadium and Hidd go head-to-head with Sitra at Khalifa Sports City Stadium. All four fixtures are scheduled for 7pm kick-offs.
In Muharraq’s win yesterday, they went a man down after Brazilian Bruno Araujo Santos was shown his second yellow card within a three-minute span for hitting Manama’s Bosnia-Herzegovina professional Danilo Sipovac in the face as they battled for possession.
But Arthur Rodrigues Rezende later made up for his countryman’s exit when he opened Muharraq’s account in the 39th minute.
Rezende was on the receiving end of a low cross from the right of the area delivered by teammate Abdulkarim Oumar Diarra, before sending the ball in from just outside the six-yard box, past Manama custodian and Sipovac’s compatriot Slavisa Bogdanovic.
Muharraq’s Serbian goalkeeper Vladan Djekic then made a crucial save on a shot by Manama’s French import Zachary Marvin Hadji moments before the half to preserve their slim advantage.
But just a quarter-hour after the re-start, Hadji was on target with a penalty, sending the ball past Djekic to the right of the net.
Manama were awarded their spot kick when a shot by Abdulrahman Sayed Mohammed in the area was handled by Abdulla Alkhalasi, setting the stage for the equaliser.
Nine minutes later, however, Muharraq were back in front with da Costa Junior’s first goal.
He connected on a 70th-minute header off a Diarra free-kick from the right wing.
Djekic then helped his maintain their lead with a series of brilliant saves – including a 79th-minute attempt by Hadji from close range and then another in the 85th minute on a Hadji header from the face of goal.
Da Costa Junior put the game away in the fifth minute of second-half injury time.
He guided the ball into an empty net after receiving an unselfish assist from Brazilian Anderson Leite Morais on a two-on-one against Bogdanovic.
Morais was released for the two-pronged attack with da Costa Junior by a fine turning pass from Argentinian teammate Facundo Agustin Tobares.
With the result, Muharraq improved to four points as they climbed to fourth on the table while Manama suffered their second defeat and stayed on one point in the bottom half.
In Khaldiya’s standoff with Riffa last night, the joint-leaders came away with a point apiece to maintain their positions in first and second, respectively, on seven points each.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))